LONDON: Three men were arrested after two police officers suffered minor injuries during a protest outside a UK hotel used to house asylum seekers, police said Saturday.
The new protests, the latest episode in a bitter national debate over immigration policy, came after an appeals court on Friday overturned a lower-court decision temporarily blocking the use of the protest-hit hotel at Epping, northeast of London, to house asylum-seekers.
“The overwhelming majority of people in Epping tonight clearly wanted their voices to be heard and they did that safely and without the need for a police response,” said Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin of Essex police.
“However, the right to protest does not include a right to commit crime and tonight a small number of people were arrested. Two officers sustained injuries which are thankfully not serious,” he added.
The case came after a resident at the Bell Hotel was charged with sexually assaulting a local girl, sparking weeks of protests that have at times turned violent.
